The gate of Nalanda Medical College and Hospital locked on Friday morning. Picture by Sachin

Patna, Dec. 31: The year did end on a high note for Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) but the noise was made by protesting doctors and not New Year revellers.

Junior doctors at the hospital went on a strike today morning following the snatching of a bike of a medico from the hospital premises yesterday evening.

Emergency services at the hospital were hit for about two hours. It was only after the intervention of senior hospital authorities that the medicos agreed to call off the strike and get back to work.

Sources said a junior doctor was leaving the hospital on Thursday evening on his bike when four armed men, on two bikes, followed him and snatched his bike on gunpoint. The doctors later lodged an FIR with the Alamgunj police station. The bike was recovered by cops today morning.

The incident was enough to raise an issue among doctors who have been demanding extra security cover for the past couple of months.

“In the name of security we have two home guard jawans but they not able to protect us. We have been demanding that at least 16 policemen should be deployed at the hospital including an officer-in-charge, but nothing has happened yet,” said Zishan Ahmad, member of junior doctors’ association at the hospital.

On October 17 this year, junior doctors of the hospital refused to admit new patients after attendants of a patient allegedly attacked a doctor and two interns. Ahmad said the attendants damaged hospital property even though a group of policemen was present at the spot.

The strike went on for four days after which health department officials intervened and promised that armed security personnel will be deployed at the hospital.

“The attendants created a ruckus. Doctors were beaten up by a mob for no reason at all. The home guards deployed at the hospital completely failed to handle a large and unruly crowd,” he said.

Ahmad added that senior policemen at Alamgunj police station had said at that time that security could not be stepped up at the hospital campus due to the Assembly election, and had assured protection after the elections were over.

“It has been over a month since the elections got over but no steps have been taken to enhance the security cover on NMCH campus. Should the authorities not try and ensure that security of doctors is not compromised with?” asked a member of the association.

Senior officials of the hospital administration, meanwhile, said that the strike by junior doctors was “unjustified”. “The demands of doctors are in the process of being fulfilled. Yesterday’s event was unfortunate but going on strike on every issue is not a way out. We have persuaded the medicos to call off the strike. The services are back to normal,” said Shivkumari Prasad, NMCH superintendent.